Habit Tracking and Stacking for Real Change

Why You Need to Write Down and Track Habits

When you get into choosing new habits for your daily routines, one thing that can benefit you the most is writing everything down. But writing down what your habits are, to choosing the actual routine and keeping track of it, this can be very useful.

 It Holds You Accountable

Writing down your habits and routines is going to hold you accountable. You know what they are, and can track each day you get them done. Even if you are just accountable to yourself, you will feel good about crossing them off each day and knowing you are keeping a promise to yourself. If you can tell others about it too, that adds more accountability, but it is completely optional.

You Can Plan Out Your Habits and Routines

When it comes to planning habits that are specifically meant to help you with accomplishing a goal, writing it down is crucial. It is close to impossible to complete a goal you haven’t worked out on paper. It is easy to get lost in your thoughts, miss important steps, or give up on it complete. Write everything down, from what the habit and goal is, to how you want to add it to your routine. The more detailed you are, the easier it is to make it part of your daily routine. 

It helps You Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress is also really important, not just to keep you accountable, but because you can see if it has been beneficial for you or not. Write down a habit you are trying to implement, and where in your routine you plan to use it. Every day, write down that you completed that habit, and what your experience was. This can be done in just a few descriptive words. Over time, look back and see if you had a positive or negative experience.

Maybe you wanted to see if waking up an hour earlier would help you, but you discovered that it just becoming more difficult, and never really benefited you. That is how writing it down is going to make you more self-aware.

You Make Changes as Things Progress

If you find that a habit or routine is not benefiting you, then you are able to switch it up to something more effective. Write down an alternative, and then use your journal or notebook to start tracking the new habit.

What is Habit Stacking?

Habit stacking is the process of taking habits that fit together and putting them into a routine. After all, this is really all a routine is. It is a collection of habits you “stack” because they fit in well with one phase of your day, whether it is a morning routine or a lunchtime routine.

Here are some things to know about habit stacking and how you can take advantage of it with your own routines and habits.

Using Cues for Your Habits

A big part of habit stacking is having cues for each of your habits. These are signs that tell you what habit is coming up next. For example, the cue for your morning habits is probably waking up or turning off the alarm. What do you do next and why do you do it? Are you using the bathroom because it is pure habit, or because you have an urgency to? This is your cue. It tells you what you need to do next and is a core principle of habit stacking.

For example, you might start associating the sun going down as the end of your workday. It is when you turn off your computer, and mentally let work go until the next day. The rest of your evening habits are about your self-care, your home, and your family.

Think of it Like a Staircase

Think of habit stacking like a staircase, with the simplest habit being at the bottom of the staircase (requiring the least amount of effort), and the biggest or most complicated habit being at the top of the staircase (requiring the most amount of effort). All the steps in between are made up of habits that take you from the easiest habit to the most time consuming or complex habit. They are all important to you, but in this way, they lead from one to the other in an order that makes sense for your routine.

When to Stack Habits

Stacking habits can be done during your daily routines. Think of any routine you have, like your morning routine. It is simply a stack of habits that all go together. If you have a routine about improving your physical health, like making a healthy breakfast, doing yoga, and drinking water, it does not make sense to read a book in the middle of that. It does not go with this flow. Stack habits that complement each other, and your routines create themselves.

Learn More about Therapy for Stress Management by Clicking Here

If you’re finding yourself stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious please feel free to email/call me for a free, no-obligation, consultation.

Remember, you deserve to have the life you want!

317-648-9295

heather@setsailtherapy.com